Fibrous article



Febn 11, 1941. R. C. NEWMAN EVAL 2,231,815

FIBROUS ARTICLE Original Filed Aug. 25 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS. /n PH C. /YfwM/m Y Feb. 1i, R. C. NEWMAN E-l-AL FIBROUS ART I CLE 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed. Aug. 25

JSM 62 Hl U im Hh. Mii l| I;

ToREK Patented Feb. 11, 1941 FIBROUS ARTICLE Ralph C. Newman, Corning, N. Y., and John W.

Romig, Rumford, B.. I., assignors, by menne assignments to Owens-Corning Fiberglas poration, Toledo, ohio, a corporation of Wale r.. Dela- Original application August 25, 1937, Serial No. 160,908. Divided aud this application October 26, 1939, Serial No. 301,500

6 Claims. (Cl. 57-144) This invention relates to brous articles and has for its object yarns, rovings and similar articles of improved structure.

` The principal feature of this invention is an improved form of brous article such as a yarn or roving in which at least a part of the article is composed of a generally tubular mass of interlaced and twisted fibres.

-A further feature of the invention is a yarn or roving composed of two or more concentric tubular masses of interlaced bres, adjacent layers of fibers being twisted in opposite directions.

A still further feature of the invention is a brousstructure in which a` generally tubular mass of interlaced libres is twisted tightly about a centrally located core.

In the accompanying drawings are disclosed a structure capable of fabricating the fibrous articles of the invention and representations of such articles, In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical elevation of one type of forming device including a fibre forming unit, a spinning mandrel and a take-off mechanism Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the spinning mandrel of Fig. k1;

Fig. 3 is .an enlarged Vperspective view of a single yam having the structure of the present invention;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a twolayer yarn having the structure of the present invention Fig. 5 is an elevation, partially in section, of a Fig. 5 modified to provide for application of various treating uids tothe fibrous materials being fabricated; and

Fig. 7 is an elevation showing a pair of. spinning mandrels arranged in series. .v ,l

While kthe structure of the present invention may be formed of natural fibres such as cotton, vsilk and wool and from the cellulose compounds commonly known as artiiicial silk, the present disclosure illustrates their manufacture fromy iine filaments of thermoplastic substances such as glass, resins and the like.

be operated with equal eiliciency in the produc-- tion of bres of any other thermoplastic substance normally solid at moderate temperatures.

ythe accompanying drawings, this rotating body is disclosed as a generally cylindrical mandrel placed with its axis of rotation at right angles to the path of the newly formed bres which are directed adjacent to its surface by a draft of air being drawn into an adjacent vacuum chest. As the libres are'deposited in a heterogeneous, interlaced manner, layer on layer, a felted mass kof libres is built up aboutthe surface of the mandrel.

If the fibres constituting the edge of the felted mass are gathered together and drawn olf over the end of the mandrel, it will be found that they will in turn pull adjacent fibres with them and thus apply a tractive effort which promotes gradual movement of the entire mass toward the end of the mandrel. If the rate of lineal movement of the withdrawnbres is properly regulated with respect to the rate at which additional fibres are being deposited on the mandrel, the felted mass will remain substantially constant as to the area and volume. libres being withdrawn and the felted mass being replenished continuously over an indenite period.

In withdrawing fibres from the felted mass, it has been found advisable to move the fibres in a straight line along the axis of rotation oi the mandrel for an appreciable distance after which rthey may gbe diverted as desired. No rotation is imparted to the withdrawn fibres so the, continuous rotation of the vmandrel will produce relative rotation between the withdrawn bres and the felted mass from which they are withdrawn. Thus, what would otherwise be a cylinder of interlaced fibres of the'same diameter as the mandrel is spun down into a twisted yarn whose weight and degree of twist are determined by the'rate of production ofthe bres, the speed of draw and the speed of rotation of the mandrel. However, on examination of the resulting yarn it will be found to retainnan essentiallyl tubular construction. v

The fibre forming device and winding mechanism which are Ashown in the drawings are of standard manufacture whilethe novel collecting and spinning mechanism cooperating therewith I drel. In general, it has been found that a single suctionV chest placed beneath the mandrel and having a perforate upper surface closely adjacent thereto is ample to effect collection of the fibres as desired. Such a suction chest drawsv a considerable volume of air about the mandrel and the libres, borne in this body of air, are brought into close proximity to the mandrel. It has been found that the fibres will collect in a uniform felted mass about the mandrel without any mechanical means attracting them thereto, but it is advantageous in certain instances to perforate the surface of the mandrel and evacuate its interior, thereby drawing the fibres down into contact therewith. However, this may result in the fibres wrapping so tightly about the mandrel that they areV not easily withdrawn. Since the mandrel rotates ata considerable speed, there is a tendency for the fibres to pull away therefrom under the influence of centrifugal force. It has been found possible to control the cohesion between `the mandrel and fibres by regulating the applied suction or by placing a baille plate or plates within the mandrel thereby limiting the application of suction to a portion only of the surface of the mandrel.-r H

When it is desired to form multilayer yarns or rovings, va battery of spinning mandrels may be set upv to operate one after another, subsequent mandrels spinning a series of concentric'coverings uponfthe yarn or roving produced on the first mandrel; In 'such an arrangement, adjacent mandrels are rotated inopposite directions to produce opposite twists in adjacent layers. In this manner a yarn will be` producedA having 'a core twisted in one direction and a-seamless outer layer or layers twisted in the other direction. Since thev twists of adjacent layers oppose each other, the yarn has no tendency to twist on itself and kink. l Referring in more detail to the specific apparatus disclosed in Fig. 1, there is disclosed diagrammatically a nbre forming mechanism such as is shown in detail in the Slayter and Thomas U. S. Patent No. 2,133,236. In such a structure the' thermoplastic material from which the fibres are to be formed is melted in a refractory container I5 and issues from the bottom thereof through openings in an electrically heated bushing plate I6. The issuing streams of thermoplatic material are cooled and attenuated to filaments of minute diameter by the action of a iet of gas issuing at high velocity from a blower II of suitable design located immediately below the bushing. `As these filaments pass downwardly from the blower, they may be sprayed with a suitable conditioning huid issuing from the pipe il.

Directly beneath the bushing is positioned a spinning unit which consists of a rotatable hollow mandrel I9 and associated vacuum chests 2l and 2| which are connected with a suitable suction device by ducts 22 and 23. As shown in more detail in Fig. 2, the mandrel Il consists of a perforate cylindrical metal shell 2l and tapered head 25 mounted upon the shaft 2|. This shaftis Journaledinbearingsl and 2| andmayberotated atanydesiredspeedbythevarlablespeedelectrio motor 2l operating through belt Il and pulley 3|. Aseriesofregisteringholes 22lntheend plate It of the mandrel and the vadjacent wall 3l 1937, now matured into U. S. Patent No. 2,202,118

of the vacuum chest 2| permit partial evacuation of the mandrel.

As the newly formed fibres pass downwardly from the blower they are caught in the current of air being drawn into the vacuum chest 20 through its upper surface which may be made of wire mesh or other perforate material. This vacuum chest is so positioned and shaped with respect to its surface 3i that it directs the fibres about the rapidly rotating mandrel where they are deposited and formed into a felted sheath-like layer. This layer is continuously withdrawn from the end. of the mandrel by the adjacent winding mechanism designated generally at 25.. 'I'his mechanism may be of any desired time. but as shown consists of a friction drum 31 driven by belt 2l at the desired speedby a variable speed motor 39. 'I'he withdrawn libres are spun down into a yarn or conductor covering adjacent the nose of the mandrel which posses through a. fixed guide 40, located in axial alignment therewith, and the eye 4| of a conventional traverse mechanism l2. The iinished material is wound about the cylinder 43' due to frictlonal contact with drum 21.

While it has been found that the descending bres will wrap themselves about the mandrel in a satisfactory manner. solely under the action of high speed of rotationof the mandrel.` This may j be accomplished by developing a-partial vacuum in the mandrel through communicationv with the A vacuum-chest 2| in the manner* described above.

The degree of suction which is applied to the mandrel may be controlled byV suitable valves or l dempers or lbyI baiiies properly positioned within the mandrel.

As has been stated above, thoroughly satisfactory resulte have been obtained without evacuation of the'mandrel and it is lthis mode of operation which permits the 'use of a variety ofmandrel designs each particularly adapted for aV different function. The hollow rotating shaft of Fig. 1 is satisfactory when a single yarn is formed, but when it is desired to supply consecutive layers of fibres as in the case of multilayer, it has .been found desirable to provide a central conduit through the mandrel which will not rotate with respect to the preformed yarn. Such a structure is shown with various modincations in Figs. 5 and 6. In Fig. 5, the hollow central shaft of this structure is risidly clamped in s supporting bracket s1. In

this design the mandrel is' made up in two sections v il and I threaded together at 5I. Ball bearing assemblies land $2 carried inthese sections of the mandrel permitit to rotate as desired about a central aperture may be provided to support and center the conductor while lateral openings'direct a spray of the desired material against the interior oftheconeoffibres. g

` In Pig. 'I are shown-a plurality of devices of this nature arranged in series for the applicationA of successive layers of nbres, one outside the other, as a straight line operation. The type "of mandrel which beenused in this instance is the same as that disclosed in Figs. 5 and 6. The illustrated structure consists of nbre forming units designated generally as 13 and 14, mandrels 15 and 16 and suction chests 11 and 18. The mandrels are mounted in substantial axial alignment and are rotated from reversable electric motors 19 and 8U so that they may be rotated in the same or opposite directions. A suitable device for withdrawing the spun bres is, of course, included in the working assembly, but this mechanism has not been illustrated in Fig. 7. An insulated conductor provided with a bre coating in this manner is shown passing through` the second mandrel in Fig. 5.

While this invention has been disclosed primarily with respect to a structure in which bres are artificially formed and are immediately collected on the spinning mandrel, it has been found that satisfactory results will be obtained when natural bres are employed and are delivered to the spinning mandrel from the usual carding, picking and stapling machines commonly employed in nbre preparation in the textile art and variousrotating bodies of different conguration may be substituted for the specific mandrel disclosed.

This specic disclosurel is by way of illustration A comprising a twisted core of lntermingled bres, said core having an annular cross section, and a seamless external coating of intermingled bres.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a yarn comprising a twisted core of intermingled bres, said core having an annular cross section, and a seamless external coating of intermingled libres, said external coating being twisted in the opposite direction from the twist of the core.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a fibrous article comprising a core and a seamless, generally tubular mass of interlaced fibres twisted about said core.

4. As a new article o! manufacture, a yarn' comprising a twisted core of intermingled fine glass bres, said core having an annular crosssection, and a seamless external coating of intermingled fine glass bres.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a yarn comprising a twisted core of intermingled bres, 

